Monday, April 9, 2012

This gorgeous manicure was featured in my Engagement Pictures Round 1 (Round 1 because my fiance and I are awkward and spazy in front of the camera). I was inspired by the classic red half moon manicures sported by Keira Knightly and friends while I was watching Atonement. I swiped on a coat of OPI's Samoan Sand, which I'd venture to say is the perfect nude, and then used DL's Supermodel instead of a simple red. Not only is it one of my personal best executions of the half moon look, but this color could not possible be more stunning. The polish appears transparent in the bottle, but it only needed to coats to achieve this brilliant opacity. It's a mix between fire and blood orange that I just can't find the words to describe. This picture does show a top coat, useful for smoothing out multilayer looks, but the DL polish had a brilliant shine all on it's one. I didn't experience chipping or tip wear during the entirety of the manicure. Once again, DL has absolutely blown me away with the quality and beauty of their product.

Though this manicure would have been perfectly suited for October or November, that didn't stop me from loving it. Continuing through the OPI Muppets Collection brought me to Warm and Fozzie; I think this may actually be my favorite from the entire bunch. I accented it with OPI's DS Extravagance, and it was absolutely the perfect compliment to Warm and Fozzie's gorgeous depth. Both colors stand alone as perfect shades, but the barley there glitter adds a layer of complication that plays perfectly with the light. As is par for the course with any OPI color, application was a breeze and chipping was nowhere to be seen. I can't wait to break this one out again in the Fall!

This was my Engagement Pictures Round 2 manicure. My wedding colors are eggplant, emerald, and sapphire, so when I dreamt up this combo I couldn't get over how perfect it was. This picture shows three coats each of the glitters covered by "Matte About You" by Essie. I used this matte top coat in order to tone down the flash a little bit so my nails wouldn't steal the show. I love the final product. This was also my first experience with the Love & Beauty brand (purchased at Forever 21), and I was pleased with the quality. The glitter matched OPI's in color, shape, size, and durability, and it was a fourth of the price! Overall, both colors dazzled me and added a fun pop to the engagement pictures (seen below!).

Let's start with, excuse how sloppy this manicure is. Now that we've taken care of that, I just need to say that this color lived up to my very high expectations. I've always heard that Ballet Slippers is one of those classic barely there colors that everyone needs in their arsenal. It's also widely known as one of the top bridal manicure picks. Since I'm currently planning my wedding I figured this was an appropriate time to finally take the plunge, and I'm so glad I did. You all know I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Essie polishes, and this was no different. The color went on easily and was completely opaque in just two coats. This is incredible, because so often these pale colors don't really become full bodied until three of four coats in. I experienced no chipping or tip wear the entire time I wore it, and I received numerous compliments. If you're ever looking for a subtle, feminine color to complete your look, this should definitely be one of your top picks.

This honestly might be one of my top manicures ever. I began with a base of Xpress Nails "Black Out" and DL "Between the Sheets," and topped them both with the gorgeous sparkle blend from Sinful Colors. I used two coats of the glitter to really make it pop. I love manicures like this because the accent nail adds diversity, but the glitter provides unity to the look. I don't have much experience with the Sinful Colors brand, but this polish held up for a week and a half--I loved it so much that I just couldn't bring myself to take it off. I'm excited to play around with other combos for this color, and even try it solo.